Haverhill PAL Soccer In-Town Program

Children between the ages of 4 and 14 are welcome to play in our In-Town soccer program. Eligible players must turn 4 before August 1 of the soccer year they are registering for and older children cannot be 14 before that date. The soccer year starts with the fall season and ends with the spring season. The In-Town program is competitive but non-results oriented, meaning scores from games are not recorded and there are no play-offs...it is intended to be instructional and FUN! If you are interested in a more results-oriented program, Travel soccer starts with a U10 league and offers an excellent transition from U8 In-Town. All players U10-U14 are welcome to try-out for our Travel teams - please see the Travel Program tab for more details.

The In-Town program is the same both fall and spring - 8 weeks of soccer each season. Players can opt to play either season or both. Games are played on Saturday with one Saturday off each season (Columbus Day weekend in the Fall and Memorial Day weekend in the Spring) so the total duration is 9 weeks but it is actually 8 weeks of scheduled soccer. The Haverhill PAL Soccer season follows the calendar set forth by the Essex County Youth Soccer Association (ECYSA).

Haverhill PAL Soccer follows the practice recommendation/guidelines of the MA Youth Soccer Association (MYSA). U7 and younger essentially do one hour on Saturday with part of that one hour session being practice/instruction and other part being a game. U8 and older have a game on Saturday and typically one practice during the week. Practice and practice schedule depends on the coach. Our coaches are 100% volunteer but they are still encouraged to become licensed by attending classes/clinics to learn age-appropriate coaching skills.

The league provides t-shirts to each player, as well as an end of season trophy or medal (depending on age). Shin guards are mandatory but cleats are optional...if you buy cleats, make sure they are soccer cleats (not baseball/softball). Soccer socks (worn over the shin guards) are highly recommended as they hold the shin guards in place. A soccer ball is obviously good to have; Size 3 for U5-U8, Size 4 for U10-U12 and Size 5 for U14+. The coach will also have access to soccer balls and training equipment. Parents should bring plenty of fluids to the field for their child.

Teams and league age or gender scenarios will sometimes depend on the number of children we have registered in a particular age group (our U12 and U14 age groups are often an example of combined age group or mixed gender).  It is very important to register your child on time, as there is a late fee imposed after a certain date, and often teams are full. Please refer to the registration page for more information.

Our goal is to have offer soccer to all age-appropriate children in Haverhill. Please see our mission statement for details.